Info for State Legislature chart

The candidates on reform

55th State Senate District

JAMES ALESI, Republican incumbent

Political experience:
MonroeCounty
Legislature 1989 to 1992, State Assembly 1993 to 1996, State Senate 1997 to
present

http://www.senatoralesi.com/

Did not respond to interview requests.

EUGENE SALTZBERG, Democratic challenger

Current job: Electrical
engineer

Political experience:
Pittsford Democratic Town Leader

On redistricting
reform: Supports a non-partisan reapportionment committee. Require counties
to remain intact for Senate districts and allow multiple senators for large
counties. "It would take some massaging to get it."

56th State Senate District

JOE ROBACH, Republican incumbent

Political experience:
Eleven years in the State Assembly, State Senator 2003 to present

http://www.joerobach.org/

On redistricting:
"That's the million-dollar question. I'm open-minded to any suggestion. I don't
know if I have the magic bullet."

On campaign finance:
"In a perfect world, what I'd really like to do is cap the amount of money that
people could spend."

WILLA POWELL, Democratic challenger

Current job: Computer
programmer

Political experience:
Rochester School Board 1997 to
2000, 2003 to present

http://www.votewilla.com/senate2006/

On redistricting:
"I would support an independent judicial commission as opposed to appointees
from each party. Professionally, [judges] are disposed to be objective."

On campaign finance:
"Clean Money, Clean Elections. I pretty much buy into that as written."

131st State Assembly District

SUSAN JOHN, Democratic incumbent

Current job: Attorney

Political experience:
State Assembly 1991 to present

http://www.susanjohn.com/

On redistricting:
Sponsored a bill to create an independent redistricting commission made up of
political appointees from both parties. "We wouldn't have the option to reject
to what they come up with."

On campaign finance:
Is sponsor of two bills on the issue. One limits fundraising during legislative
sessions; the other sets up a public campaign system modeled on New
York City's.

JOHN FERLICCA, Republican challenger

Current job: Attorney

Political experience:
Six years in the Monroe County Legislature

http://www.ferliccaforassembly.org/

On
redistricting: Wants two panels of retired judges or civic-action groups,
one to redistrict each house, focused on preserving "communities of interest."
"The most important aspect of that plan would be that the two panels couldn't
talk to each other."

On campaign finance:
"I signed off on Clean Money, Clean Elections. I don't know if that's the
perfect plan, but it's obviously better than the plan that we have right now."

132nd State Assembly District

JOE MORELLE, Democratic incumbent

Current job: Businessman
and chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party

Political experience:
MonroeCounty
Legislature 1983 to 1990, State Assembly 1991 to present

http://www.morelle.com/

On redistricting:Morelle didn't say what he'd support. Instead, he
defends political involvement in the process.

On campaign finance:
Favors bills the Assembly has passed to create a New York City-style public
finance system.

SAM TRAPANI, Republican challenger

Current job: Businessman

http://www.samtrapani.com/

On redistricting:
Supports removing politicians and anything that smacks of partisanship. "Do it
randomly. Let the cards fall where they fall." Who would be in charge? "A computer."

On campaign finance:
"I would really rather see a system whereby once you become a bona fide
candidate through some sort of qualification process, like getting enough
signatures, then let the state give you dollars --- either a Clean Money fund
or mandatory free air time."

133rd State Assembly District

DAVID GANTT, Democratic incumbent

Current job: Full-time
legislator

Political experience:
Nine years in the Monroe County Legislature, State Assembly 1983 to present

http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=133

Did not respond to interview requests.

CARLOS COCKER, Republican challenger

Current job:Call-center
employee

On redistricting:
"I can't sit here and tell you I have the answer for how to change that, but I
can tell you it needs to be changed."

On campaign finance:
"I'm not familiar with that issue in-depth, but I know that's something that
people have been upset about."

135th State Assembly District

DAVID KOON, Democratic incumbent

Current job: Businessman

Political experience:
State Assembly 1997 to present

http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=135

On
redistricting: "Start in the eastern tip of Long Island and come across
for 125,000 or however many people, you make that District 1 and so on, and
make them as compact and as geographically square as you can. I think
the non-partisan group would be the best way to do that."

On campaign finance:
Public financing is fine, but don't expect it to match rich candidates'
spending levels. "I think that we have to somehow limit the amount of money
that you can spend on a campaign. It's crazy."

MARK JOHNS, Republican challenger

Current job: Monroe
County Health Department employee

http://www.markjohns.org/

On redistricting:
"Allow Democrats and Republicans to each pick 10 retired judges and then out of
a hat pick three of those judges, not knowing which they might be, to oversee a
computer program" that would generate geographically compact districts.

On campaign
financing: Wants a public clean-election fund with a $1 billion endowment
--- at 5 percent interest that'd generate $200 million every two years for 212
state legislature races. Everyone gets "a couple of hundred thousand dollars."
No one gets outside contributions.